I would like to thank Stephen J Epstein for his faith, persistence, and creativity in translating my short stories. It was a great pleasure to work with Stephen, and also with Brow Books, one of the most fearless and cutting-edge independent literary platforms in Australia. Many thanks to Elizabeth Bryer, Sam Cooney and Dzenana Vucic for their insightful comments and suggestions that helped me see my work with a fresh eye, and thanks to Brett Weekes and Rosetta Mills for their work on the Australian edition of Apple and Knife.

The UK edition of the book would not have been possible without the commitment and enthusiasm of editor Ellie Steel and her team at Harvill Secker. I am indebted to them and to my agent, Kelly Falconer, for her guidance and encouragement.

I highly appreciate the assistance from the LitRI Translation Grant as well as generous support from friends and institutions: Tiffany Tsao, John McGlynn (Lontar Foundation), Mirna Yulistianti (Gramedia Pustaka Utama), and the Department of Media, Music, Communication and Cultural Studies at Macquarie University.

I would like to thank my parents – especially my mother, the first disobedient woman who inspired many of my early stories. Finally, I dedicate this book to both my partner/collaborator/first reader, Ugoran Prasad, and my daughter, Ilana, who have travelled and crossed many borders with me in the past decade.

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Translator’s acknowledgements

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Participation in this project has been a highlight of my academic and translating career, and I need to thank several people who have helped bring it to fruition. I would like to thank John McGlynn of the Lontar Foundation, who has been a great supporter of my forays into translating Indonesian fiction, and first introduced me to the work of Intan Paramaditha. Tiffany Tsao offered wonderful editing suggestions and played a key role in connecting us to TLB/Brow Books, who have been terrific to work with as publishers. Many thanks to TLB’s Sam Cooney, Elizabeth Bryer and Dzenana Vucic for their infectious enthusiasm and thoughtful reading of the stories, which has led to significant improvements. Sora Kim-Russell also read several of the stories, and her sharp translator’s eye has made for a better collection. I also want to acknowledge my many fine colleagues at Victoria University of Wellington and the New Zealand Centre for Literary Translation; it’s great to have such a congenial work environment.

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